The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp unveils $2B in new spending for roads, sewers, new schools
By Greg Bluestein
Gov. Brian Kemp is dipping deeper into Georgia’s state coffers for a range of major infrastructure and education projects that include a new medical school, a new dental school, more money for sewer improvements and a massive new roadbuilding project. The Republican unveiled the more than $2 billion in new spending projects on Wednesday at the Georgia Chamber’s annual Eggs & Issues breakfast, where he also announced he would delay a separate effort to curb “frivolous” lawsuits and overhaul litigation rules until 2025. …DENTAL SCHOOL …The governor’s spending blueprint will include $178 million for the design and construction of a dental school at Georgia Southern University, which he said would be the first school of its kind to be built in the state since 1969. …MEDICAL SCHOOL …The University of Georgia would get $50 million for a new medical school, long a controversial subject in the higher education world.
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Griffin Daily News
Gordon State College prepares to launch eMajor degree program in organizational leadership
By Karolina Philmon GSC Marketing Manager
Gordon State College is starting the new year with the launch of a new degree program, the Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership eMajor. “The organizational leadership degree will give students from any background an opportunity to focus on developing their leadership skills and abilities to advance to management positions and beyond,” said Ric Calhoun, GSC AVP of innovative education and strategic initiatives. “The degree has a lot of flexibility with students having the choice of concentrations in health care, public administration, office administration and social justice. We hope this degree will help students from many different disciplines advance in their careers.”
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Albany Herald
Georgia Ag Forecast offers insights into state’s No. 1 industry
By Sameeka
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and UGA Cooperative Extension have announce that registration for the 2024 Georgia Ag Forecast is now open. The annual event is scheduled for Jan. 26 at the UGA Tifton Conference Center on the UGA-Tifton campus, and it will also be live-streamed to virtual registrants.
WJCL
Cool Beanz helping fuel Eagle Nation with Georgia Southern branded coffee
GATA Fuel is university’s first officially licensed coffee
Frank Sulkowski, Anchor/Reporter
Something special is brewing at a Downtown Statesboro coffee shop. “Best way to describe it, it’s smooth,” says Cool Beanz Espresso Bar owner David Hoyle. G-A-T-A is more than a motto these days. The battle cry made famous by legendary Georgia Southern football coach Erk Russell is now a coffee thanks to the percolating power of Cool Beanz Espresso Bar in Statesboro. …David Hoyle has been brewing up some of the ‘Boro’s best hot and cold coffee beverages for years and recently the Georgia Southern alum partnering with Eagle athletics to launch the university’s first branded coffee called GATA Fuel.
Middle Georgia CEO
FVSU Alum Leads Force Generation Center at Robins Air Force Base
On December 4, Brigadier General Kelvin D. McElroy became the Commander of the Force Generation Center (FGC) at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. McElroy graduated from Fort Valley State College (FVSC) in 1994 with a bachelor’s in business administration and began his military journey when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army in June of the same year through the Army Reserve Officer Training Program at FVSC. Initially serving as an air defense artillery officer during his active duty, he transitioned to the Air Force Reserve in 2000. Since then, he has held various key positions, including chief of supply and fuels, Air Force ROTC instructor, deputy of warfighter logistics, and maintenance squadron commander. The Force Generation Center is a pivotal organization tasked with efficiently producing Air Force Reserve forces.
Albany Herald
Jeretha Peters leads Albany’s growth as first black woman to be Albany Area Chamber chair
By Lucille Lannigan
Jeretha Peters likes to tell people that the city of Albany chose her. The Savannah native said she always saw herself eventually returning to the coastal Georgia city. However, as she made her way through grade school, Darton College, Albany State University and began her career in banking, opportunities arose that made her stay. Jeretha Peters, who is the branch manager at Albany’s Wells Fargo Advisors, became the first African American woman named to chair the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce Board on Jan. 1.
The Tifton Gazette
An Evening for ABAC set for Feb. 24
From Staff Reports
A fantastic night of food, fun, dancing, and supporting student scholarships will take place at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s annual “An Evening for ABAC” on February 24. The event, which will be held at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center, will include a virtual auction beginning on Feb. 21, cocktails, a fabulous dinner, and entertainment featuring Disc Jockey ETC. …The event provides over $100,000 in scholarships for the Baldwin Scholars program annually. The Baldwin Scholars program was originally established in 1985 and was known as the ABAC Foundation Scholars. It has provided over a million dollars in scholarships to ABAC students.
Augusta CEO
Augusta Technical College, Augusta University, and Paine College proudly announce their collaboration for the 2024 Martin Luther King, Jr. annual tri-college program honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Otis Samuel Johnson, Chair of the Racial Equity and Leadership (REAL) Task Force, will give the keynote address. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Johnson served as Scholar in Residence at Savannah State University from February 2012 to May 2019 after serving eight years as the 64th Mayor of the city of Savannah, Georgia. …Dr. Johnson earned academic degrees from Armstrong State University, (now merged with Georgia Southern University) A. A., 1964; University of Georgia, B. A., 1967;
WGAU Radio
Spelman president to deliver UGA’s Holmes-Hunter Lecture
The University of Georgia lines up a speaker for this year’s Holmes-Hunter Lecture, an address named in honor of the first two black students to attend UGA: Spelman College president Helene Gayle will speak in the University Chapel on February 27.
From Rod Guajardo, UGA Today…
Helene Gayle, the 11th president of Spelman College and public health expert, will present the 2024 Holmes-Hunter Lecture at 2 p.m. Feb. 27 in the Chapel at the University of Georgia.
Albany Herald
Albany State, Albany Area Chamber host MLK Day dinner
From staff reports
Albany State University and the Albany Area Chamber Foundation will host the 2024 MLK Day Dinner on Thursday, a celebration of unity inspired by the ideals of Martin Luther King Jr. The event, presented by Colony Bank, is a collaboration with the King Day Celebration Committee. This year’s event, scheduled for Thursday at the ASU West Campus Student Center, promises an inspiring evening, event sponsors say. The reception kicks off at 6 p.m. with the musical stylings of FLEX ABY student entrepreneur Michael Anderson, followed by the program at 7 p.m.
Columbus CEO
Bo Bartlett Center to Host Lennart Anderson Retrospective Beginning Feb. 1
Beginning Feb. 1, Columbus State University’s Bo Bartlett Center will host one of the largest surveys of work to date by American painter Lennart Anderson. “Lennart Anderson: A Retrospective” will include more than 40 works from both private and public collections, including the Center for Figurative Painting, Brooklyn Museum, Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia, and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Lennart Anderson estate and Leigh Morse Fine Arts, and it originates from the New York Studio School.
Big News Network
Head Coach Search: Chargers Confirm Interview with Giff Smith
Eric Smith
The Chargers on Tuesday confirmed they have interviewed Giff Smith for their head coach position. Smith recently served as the Chargers Interim Head Coach for the final three games of the 2023 season. …NFL/College Career …2004-09 Georgia Tech defensive line coach; 1996-98 Georgia Southern wide receivers coach; …Smith graduated from Georgia Southern University
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
FAFSA Now Open Full-Time After Rocky Launch
By Liam Knox
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is officially open for business as usual, the Department of Education announced Monday afternoon, hopefully marking the end of a confusing, error-ridden and much-delayed launch process. Barring any further complications, the new form—which changed substantially through a congressionally mandated simplification process—will be “continuously available except for routine maintenance, typical of any FAFSA cycle,” Federal Student Aid chief Richard Cordray wrote in a statement.
Inside Higher Ed
What Does a New Governor Mean for Higher Ed in Louisiana?
Critics fear that Jeff Landry is seeking undue power over the state’s universities. Pre-emptively, some institutions have already backtracked on DEI.
By Josh Moody
Rick Gallot was hired in October to be the next head of the University of Louisiana system. But the former Democratic state lawmaker and past president of Grambling State University didn’t sign his contract until late last month. Why the holdup? Jeff Landry, the Republican gubernatorial candidate who won election in November, wanted to meet with Gallot and weigh in on the pick. In local news interviews, Landry has emphasized the importance of having a say in the direction of the UL system. And as Landry sought a conversation with Gallot, the contract for the system head hung in limbo. Meanwhile, on the very same day that Gallot was hired, the same board appointed his UL system predecessor, Jim Henderson, to be president of Louisiana Tech University—and quickly finalized his contract. The new governor took office Sunday, and now critics are worried about the future of higher education in the state, where Landry has lately taken aim at public institutions.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
CSU to Increase Salary Pay 5 Percent
Johnny Jackson
The California State University (CSU) announced it will provide all instructional faculty, librarians, counselors, and coaches with a 5% general salary increase. The measure means that CSU and the California Faculty Association (CFA) have concluded the last step in the collective bargaining impasse procedure – the “factfinding” process. The pay increase, effective Jan. 31, is consistent with agreements the CSU has already reached with five of its labor unions.
Inside Higher Ed
By Susan H. Greenberg
Purdue University will receive $100 million from Lilly Endowment Inc., marking the largest gift in the university’s history. Half the funding will support the Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. School of Business and half will go to Purdue Computes, which focuses on computing, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum.
Cybersecurity Dive
How to ensure data privacy in a ChatGPT world
CISOs and CIOs have to balance the need to restrict sensitive data from generative AI tools with the need for businesses to use these tools to improve processes and increase productivity.
By Sue Poremba
Organizations already struggle to keep employees from risky behaviors that can result in a data breach. Now, generative AI presents a whole new threat – employees who accidentally input sensitive corporate or consumer data into ChatGPT. As more organizations adopt generative AI into the workplace, 15% of employees regularly post data into the tool, according to research from LayerX released last year. Of those that share information in ChatGPT, 6% admit they’ve shared sensitive data. Now security teams have a new worry: how to keep employees from inputting personally identifiable information and proprietary corporate information into generative AI tools.